Written by Yoshino Genzaburō in 1937, this Japanese novel finally has been translated to English. I found the following synopsis on Wikipedia:
Junichi Honda is a 2nd year (15 years old) junior high school student who is known by his nickname Koperu, which was named after the astronomer Nicholas Copernicus. He has excellent academic and athletic achievements, and possesses a fair degree of popularity. His father is a bank executive until his death, and his mother is a maid. After his father’s death, Koperu moves to his uncle’s house. There are many children of businessmen, university professors, and doctors in classmates, and topics of classes extend to ski areas, cinemas, Ginza, and summer resorts. Koperu experiences and observes various events in school life with friends. Following each chapter, the uncle who told the story of the day talked about themes such as “view of things”, “structure of society”, “relation”, etc. in the style of a note written to Koperu.
I am going to try and get a copy of this soon. Why? Miyazaki is planning to make his next and “final” Studio Ghibli film based on this novel. I have high hopes for this one. Miyazaki said this was the book that inspired him to make animated films so I’m super interested to see what comes of this one. He doesn’t follow novels exactly as they go, this is proven with Kiki’s Delivery Service, Howl’s Moving Castle, and The Secret World Of Arrietty.
This definitely looks like a slice-of-life style storyline so we can expect something along the lines of Whisper of the Heart, The Wind Rises, From Up on Poppy Hill, and Only Yesterday. I’m really interested to see how Miyazaki portrays this one. Will this be his magnum opus?
I’m hoping so. Apologies for getting this post out later. Been struggling mentally and today was karate. I had a really hard time getting going this morning. The depression, worthlessness, and anxiety feel like these giant weights that are shackled to my ankles and just when I think I’m getting some momentum, I reach the end of my chain and falter. Tomorrow is another day… Thanks as always for reading, folks!
Atelier Whootique 